Fan Favorite | The Carancas Curse

Summary

MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries

Episode: Fan Favorite | The Carancas Curse

Date: September 4, 2025

---

Episode Overview

In this chilling episode of MrBallen’s Medical Mysteries, host MrBallen unravels the perplexing events surrounding “The Carancas Curse”—the story of a meteorite impact in the rural Peruvian village of Carancas in 2007, which unleashed a mystery combining elements of science, folklore, and public health. The episode details how the meteorite created a massive crater, led to mass sickness in the community, confounded local authorities and scientists, and tested the boundaries between myth and science as the village grappled with a mysterious and terrifying illness. Through immersive storytelling and detailed reporting, MrBallen traces the efforts of residents, medical staff, public officials, and experts who struggled to explain—and ultimately demystify—this real-life medical enigma.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Meteorite Strike and Immediate Aftermath

• Opening Incident ([02:36]–[08:00]):
  • September 15, 2007, Carancas, Peru. Sheep farmer Gregorio Yaruri witnesses a mysterious explosion—a low hum crescendos to a roar, an orange streak crosses the sky, and a sonic boom shakes his house.
  • Locals first suspect a missile strike or supernatural event. Gregorio encounters a crater filled with foul, bubbling green sludge and a pervasive rotten egg smell, feeling sickened just by proximity.
  • The event attracts villagers, police, and the mayor. Theories abound—alien attack, foreign missile, ancient curse—all reflecting the villagers’ anxieties and folklore.
• Memorable Quote:
  • “...he spotted something small and orange streaking through the sky. An instant later, a sonic boom whipped across the valley, shattering a window in Gregorio's house.” ([03:04] – MrBallen as narrator)

2. Escalating Sickness: People and Animals Affected

• Mass Illness ([11:00]–[14:30]):
  • Villagers, excited and curious, gather at the crater—many begin vomiting, complaining of headaches. Gregorio himself gets a headache and witnesses a local woman vomiting.
  • The next morning, Gregorio’s sheep are sick and bleeding from the nose. The local vet reports widespread livestock illness across Carancas.
• Notable Detail:
  • The first conclusion among villagers is that the rock fragments from the crater might be radioactive, stirring panic.

3. Medical Response, Panic and Superstition

• Overwhelmed Clinic ([16:38]–[21:00]):
  • Over 200 residents come down with migraines, vomiting, and must be treated at overflowing clinics.
  • The mayor learns from Lima officials: the explosion was not a missile strike but a meteorite of the “chondrite” class—a scientifically baffling occurrence.
  • Local belief in curses surges. Many patients are convinced the sickness is supernatural, resisting Red Cross doctors’ assurances.
• Memorable Quote:
  • “The old woman hissed and called the doctor a liar. Many of the patients around her nodded in agreement, eyeing the doctor like he was in on some big conspiracy.” ([18:54])

4. Science Meets Tradition: Seeking Answers

• Community Assembly & Dual-Authority Approach ([21:00]–[25:00]):
  • Mayor Trujillo recruits the town’s shaman to conduct a traditional sacrificial ritual to appease presumed angry spirits, in hopes of quelling community panic.
  • A government geologist, Luisa Macedo, presents findings: arsenic is present in the crater water; the sickness may be due to inhaled arsenic vapor released by the meteorite’s intense heat disrupting groundwater.
  • She also warns that the village water table’s arsenic levels likely predate the meteorite—an existing but overlooked public health risk.
• Memorable Quote:
  • “We found that the water contained dangerous levels of arsenic—a deadly poison... everyone who had gone to see the crater got sick because they had inhaled that vapor.” ([22:40] – Geologist Luisa Macedo)

5. Scientific Mystery Deepens

• Unanswered Questions ([25:40]–[29:30]):
  • Despite the arsenic hypothesis, Luisa admits to the mayor that the heat a meteorite should generate is insufficient to create arsenic vapor—and no prior meteorite had caused symptoms like these.
  • Enter Professor Peter Schultz (Brown University), who, intrigued by news reports, travels to Peru to examine the case firsthand.
  • Schultz’s investigation suggests an unusual combination of entry angle, impact speed, and local geology could be responsible: the meteorite remained intact, became superheated, and vaporized arsenic-laden groundwater.
• Notable Quote:
  • “Meteorites are usually freezing when they impact earth... she did not understand how the meteorite could have gotten hot enough to create this toxic arsenic vapor.” ([25:00] – Regarding Luisa Macedo)

6. Resolution and Lasting Impact

• Final Explanation & Recovery ([29:31]–[32:17]):
  • Schultz’s detailed assessment validates the arsenic vapor theory: a rare sequence of atmospheric and impact conditions made it possible.
  • Fortunately, affected community members recover fully, thanks to quick identification and medical support.
  • Nonprofits help the village access cleaner water; scarred but wiser, Carancas moves forward—though the story of the “curse” lives on in local memory.
• Closing Quote:
  • “Even though the water is cleaner and the arsenic gas is long gone, the people of Carancas will always remember when, in a way, they were attacked by a UFO.” ([32:10] – MrBallen/narrator)

---

Notable Quotes and Moments

• The moment of impact:
  • “He spotted something small and orange streaking through the sky... a sonic boom whipped across the valley, shattering a window in Gregorio's house.” ([03:04])
• Panic and folklore:
  • “This was clearly a sign of bad things to come. A curse sent by the spirits.” ([08:17])
• Medical confusion:
  • “All the patients' blood work was coming back normal... I don’t know why they were sick, but judging from their symptoms, everyone should make a full recovery in a few days.” ([18:14] – Red Cross doctor)
• Science meets tradition:
  • “He promised he would sacrifice a llama fetus at the crater... which should be enough to restore harmony to the area.” ([22:10] – Village shaman)
• The unresolved riddle:
  • “Meteorites are usually freezing when they impact earth... she did not understand how the meteorite could have gotten hot enough to create this toxic arsenic vapor.” ([25:00])

---

Important Timestamps

• 02:36 — Main story begins: The mysterious explosion and crater.
• 08:00 — Gathering of villagers, first symptoms of illness.
• 11:00 — Livestock begin showing signs of sickness.
• 16:38 — Mass illness; clinics overwhelmed; missile vs. meteorite debate.
• 18:54 — Conflict between science and local superstition.
• 21:00 — Mayor seeks shaman’s intervention in tandem with science.
• 22:40 — Geologist presents arsenic vapor hypothesis.
• 25:00 — Luisa Macedo admits scientific uncertainties.
• 29:31 — Prof. Schultz’s theory: rare meteorite impact dynamics explain events.
• 32:10 — Epilogue: Community recovers; legacy of the Carancas Curse.

---

Tone & Style

The episode maintains MrBallen’s signature blend of suspenseful, empathetic storytelling, infusing scientific explanation with rich, atmospheric narrative. The pace is brisk yet detailed, balancing personal stories, medical mystery, and cultural context.

---

Summary

The Carancas Curse is a gripping account of how a seemingly straightforward meteorite impact in rural Peru exploded into a baffling medical emergency, fanning the flames of superstition while confounding scientists. As villagers suffer sudden sickness and authorities scramble for answers, the episode vividly explores the collision of folklore, fear, and scientific investigation. Balancing vivid personal details with methodical problem-solving, MrBallen’s retelling shows how truth can be stranger—and scarier—than fiction, demonstrating the precarious line between mystery, myth, and reality.

Transcript

[A]

Hey prime members you can listen to new episodes of mister bolland's medical mysteries early and ad free download the amazon music app today.

[B]

In november of two thousand seven a scientist stood on the edge of a fifty foot wide crater in the peruvian high desert the crater was full of water but despite its innocent looking appearance this crater full of water held incredible danger when it formed two months earlier hundreds of people and animals in the area had gotten violently sick and so far no one had come up with a good explanation for how this was possible in fact according to the laws of physics the crater shouldn't even exist it was a mystery that had researchers all over the planet scratching their heads but as the scientist stared down into the big crater he thought he might have the answer to both of these mysteries and if he was right it would mean that the threat posed by this crater was far greater than anyone imagined if you're ready.

[A]

To take your health and your wellness seriously but aren't sure where to start you are not alone the first step is always the hardest and the endless stream of conflicting advice online doesn't make it any easier workouts nutrition stress management it's like where do you even begin that's where having a trusted expert in your corner makes all the difference someone who can cut through the noise and give you a clear personalized plan to set you up for real success i had the same goal this year to push myself further than ever before but i quickly realized i couldn't do it alone to get stronger mentally and physically go to anytime fitness you'll get a personalized training nutrition and recovery plan all customized to your body your strength level and your goals you'll get expert coaching to optimize your results anytime anywhere in the gym and on the anytime fitness app and you'll get anytime access to five thousand five hundred gyms worldwide all with the right equipment to level up your strength gains and your life so get started at anytime fitness dot com that's anytimefitness dot com this episode is brought to you by the hbo original drama series task from the creator of mare of easttown set in the working class suburbs of philadelphia an fbi agent.

[B]

Heads a task force to put an.

[A]

End to a string of violent robberies led by an unsuspecting family man don't miss task starring mark ruffalo and tom pelfrey streaming september seventh.

[B]

From ballin studios and wonder i'm mister ballin and this is mister ballin's medical mysteries where every week we will explore a new baffling mystery originating from the one place we all can't escape our own bodies if you like today's story please ask the follow button to come skip some stones with you on a lake but when the follow button isn't looking steal their phone and skip that into the water today's story is called the carankus curse it was a chilly morning on september fifteenth two thousand seven a sheep farmer named gregorio yaruri sat on his porch sipping a mug of coffee and looking at the distant mountain peaks that surrounded his hometown of carancas a small village in southern peru it was silent except for the sheep bleating in the pasture then gregorio heard a low sound like a hum at first the noise was faint and it sounded like it was coming from miles away then the hum grew louder and the coffee in his mug started to vibrate a moment later pebbles on the ground surrounding his porch began to shake as the hum turned into a roar alarmed gregorio set down his mug and leaped down into the yard he looked around trying to figure out if the noise was human made or maybe an earthquake he covered his ears as the hum roared to a deafening scream then he spotted something small and orange streaking through the sky an instant later a sonic boom whipped across the valley shattering a window in gregorio's house he was thrown onto his back and he rolled a few times before steadying himself in the dirt noises began to erupt all across the plain gregorio could hear dogs howling and shouts coming from some of the neighboring farms gregorio was bracing himself for something else to happen but the sky above him was bright blue again so he stood up feeling totally shell shocked as he brushed the dust from his pants he scanned the horizon for some clue as to what had caused this explosion in the distance he could see a plume of thick black smoke rising a hundred feet into the air at first gregorio was filled with dread then a sense of determination swelled up inside of him he needed to know what had just fallen from the sky he ran for the bicycle he kept leaning up against the side of his house he brushed the glass shards from his broken window off the seat and then he hopped on and he set his feet on the pedals and took off towards the tower of smoke as dragorio neared the site of impact the smell of rotten eggs stung the inside of his nostrils he pulled over just long enough to grab his bandana out of his back pocket and tie it around his face to block the smell about one hundred feet from the tower of smoke he noticed red dust covering the ground the closer he got the thicker the blanket of dust seemed to be when he finally reached the base of the smoke plume he rubbed the dust with his feet it appeared to be clay that had been kicked up by the crash the smoke was so thick he still couldn't tell what had impacted the ground but whatever it was it had created what appeared to be a huge crater in the ground the column of smoke was emerging from a hole about fifty feet across it really looked like someone had just detonated a bomb there a few minutes later the smoke started thinning out and gregorio could finally see into this crater he walked up to the edge and his eyes widened from a combination of fear and wonder the crater was filled with a dark green liquid the liquid had a consistency somewhere between maybe water and sludge and it was bubbling as if it was simmering gregorio pinched his nose through the bandana the egg smell coming off of this crater was so strong that he felt sick to his stomach he walked around the perimeter of the crater kicking at the shards of clay and jagged rock that littered the ground it looked like someone had smashed a huge vase to pieces gregorio scanned the horizon it seemed like he was the only person who'd come to investigate this plume of smoke he figured the neighboring farmers must be worried that whatever crashed into the ground would was a bad omen a lot of his neighbors still believed in ancient spirits but after a while it struck gregorio as kind of odd that not even an emergency vehicle had come out to survey the scene something had just shot out of the sky and smashed into the earth it felt like that was the kind of thing police would want to know about but gregorio knew help would not be coming from his village only about two hundred fifty people lived in carancas so it didn't have its own police force the authorities were located in the nearby town of deseguidero which was about seven miles up the road gregorio wasn't sure if the folks in deseguadero would be able to see the smoke plume from there if they couldn't he worried that the authorities might not even know this happened gregorio jumped back on his bicycle and pedaled to the house of a neighbor who owned a motorcycle that gregorio knew he'd be able to borrow it was going to be up to him to raise the alarm and he had to get out there fast about twenty minutes later gregorio parked his borrowed motorcycle in front of the police station in deseguadero and then walked inside he was greeted by a tired looking receptionist with the phone pressed to her ear it seemed like she'd been talking to people for hours three deputies were talking loudly about an airstrike it took a minute for gregorio to realize what was going on the police did know about this explosion one of them had seen the orange streak in the sky but they thought that carankus had actually been struck by a missile gregorio waved down one of the officers and explained he had seen a crater filled with this green ooze that smelled terrible the officer disappeared into a back room for a moment and then he returned with the chief of police they asked if gregorio could lead them to the crash site gregorio agreed soon he was back on his neighbor's motorcycle leading police cars along the seven mile road back to the carancas countryside as the crash site came into view gregorio could see people moving around the rim of the crater as he drew even closer he realized that dozens of villagers from carancas had come to see what had caused the smoke he guessed that when the black plume of smoke had dissipated the neighbors figured it was now safe to come take a look gregorio pulled over his motorcycle about twenty yards from the crater and dismounted the police cars fanned out around him as policemen approached the perimeter of the crater gregorio noticed his neighbors picking up rock fragments as souvenirs and pointing at the green liquid at the bottom of the massive hole gregorio overheard a nearby couple speculate that maybe this was the result of a missile strike from peru's neighbor and rival chile one teenage boy was talking excitedly telling his friends they were probably just attacked by a ufo an old woman who gregorio assumed was the boy's grandmother told him to be quiet this was clearly a sign of bad things to come a curse sent by the spirits she sounded terrified gregorio did not find any of these theories very convincing however he wasn't ready to offer any of his own but the strange explosion had him just as curious as his neighbors he picked up a shard of deep red rock near his feet and slipped it into his coat pocket just as another car pulled onto the scene gregorio recognized the mayor of carrancus maximiliano trujillo mayor trujillo stepped out of the backseat squinting in the sunlight the mayor walked toward the crater looking stunned he stopped right next to gregorio and asked what happened gregorio just shrugged still in disbelief straight ahead of them a pile of black rocks were smoking at the edge of the crater the mayor's eyes widened when he saw them and he began walking toward the crater to get a better look by late afternoon hundreds of people had gathered at the crash site gregorio stood near the front of the crowd hoping that if he stuck around long enough the police might announce what had caused this explosion as the sun started to set the smell of rotten eggs returned it was faint but pungent gregorio's eyes began to water he pulled his bandana back up over his face but that didn't work anymore the smell was giving him a headache a few minutes later a short woman standing near gregorio leaned over and began vomiting and she wasn't the only one people all around the crater were starting to get sick between the rotten smell coming off the green sludge and now the vomit the air around the crater was now so thick that gregorio thought he might faint he fought his way through the crowd back to his motorcycle and sped off towards home sucking in the fresh air as he went when he walked through his front door his phone was ringing it was his son who had moved about six hours away for a job after he had graduated school as gregorio told him about the afternoon's excitement he took the rock out of his pocket and he laid it on the kitchen table he began to describe its deep red color but his son cut him off he begged gregorio not to touch it if carankus was attacked by a missile it then this red rock could very likely be radioactive gregorio remembered the people getting sick at the crater he felt a surge of anxiety and he covered the rock with a dish towel if his son was right half the town was now vulnerable and gregorio spent more time at the crater than anyone else panicked he hung up on his son and ran outside to hose himself off he didn't know how much it would help but he had to do something he spent the rest of the evening feeling totally anxious until finally he managed to fall asleep the next morning gregorio woke up with the sun as usual he still felt a bit queasy but no worse than the night before he breathed a big sigh of relief because he figured that radiation poisoning would have made him feel a lot sicker by now and so probably he he was in the clear as the sunrise turned the sky a vivid pink gregorio walked out of his house towards the sheep pen he grabbed tufts of hay and dried grass and scattered them on the ground and the sheep came running over to graze grigorio watched until one of the sheep picked its head up and ambled away then he noticed something unusual there were dark splotches on the hay right where the sheep's head had been it took gregorio a moment to realize what he was looking at he walked over and grabbed the sheep that had ambled off and he lifted its head up and blood was trickling out of its nose then he looked at the ground another splotch of blood stained the hay beneath his feet as he walked the length of the pen he found drops of blood spattered all over the ground gregorio rushed inside and called his vet expecting to leave a voicemail since it was still early but to his surprise the vet actually picked up he sounded wide awake like he'd already been up for hours he said that he'd been getting calls all morning livestock across caranchus were getting sick the vet promised to make gregorio's farm his next stop gregorio thanked him and hung up he had no idea what kind of sickness had emerged from that crater but it seemed like it could be deadly nineteen.

[A]

Eighty eight a small new jersey town is shaken by horror a devoted mother brutally murdered satanic symbols scattered throughout her home and her teenage son vanished without a trace was it demonic possession or something even worse something more sinister based on the hit wondery podcast series the devil within comes let the devil in a four part documentary that unravels this haunting true crime through never before heard interviews and shocking revelations we will explore a case that divided a community and expose the dark underbelly of america's satanic panic executive produced and hosted by horror maestro eli roth this chilling investigation will.

[B]

Make you question everything you believe about.

[A]

Fear faith and the monsters we create let the devil in now streaming new episodes on sundays available exclusively on mgm.

[B]

When you've worked hard for your paycheck waiting for it to hit your account.

[A]

Can be frustrating especially when you need that money right now with earnnnn you get the financial flexibility to access your earnings as soon as you need them so you're always in control just download the earnnnn app add your info and you're good to go any money you access plus any tips you choose to give is automatically repaid from your next paycheck download earn in today spelled e a r n i n in the google play or apple app store when you download the earnnnn app type in misterball podcast under podcast when you sign up because it'll show mister ballin podcast under podcast earnnon is a financial technology company not a bank access limits are based on your earnings and risk factors standard cash outs take one to two business days with no mandatory fees expedited transfers available for a fee tips are voluntary and do not affect the service available in select states terms and restrictions apply visit earnin dot com for full details download earnnan now and take control of.

[B]

The a few days after the crash mayor trujillo walked between rooms at a health clinic every exam table had been turned into a makeshift hospital bed more than two hundred people who visited the crash site had flooded the hospital in deseguadero they were all sick with migraine headaches and they were vomiting the hospital got so overwhelmed with patients they diverted people to smaller health clinics throughout the city which were now acting as satellite operations mayor trujillo had called the red cross to help administer care in these satellite clinics but now even the clinics were completely full the smell inside the packed clinic was terrible people were retching and crying to the mayor it felt like he was walking through a war zone thankfully he'd received confirmation that morning from the authorities in lima the capital of peru that carrancas had not been attacked by a missile in fact scientists said that the crater had been caused by a meteorite mayor trujillo was relieved that they were not under attack but a mystery nobody knew why people were now getting sick meteorites had never been known to have that kind of effect specialists were flying out from lima to investigate further mayor trujillo moved through the crowd of patients in the waiting room trying his best to reassure them he stopped by a red cross doctor who was tending to a small elderly woman on a folding chair the mayor greeted the old woman and then thanked the doctor for traveling all this way to desegadero the doctor stood upright looking tired but hopeful he explained that all the patient's blood work was coming back normal he didn't know why they were sick but judging from their symptoms he said everyone should make a full recovery in a few days trujillo smiled with relief but the old woman hissed and called the doctor a liar many of the patients around her nodded in agreement eyeing the doctor like he was in on some big conspiracy he heard them muttering about evil spirits causing this disaster trujillo knew that many villagers believed the meteorite was a curse from the ancient spirits and because of that many had refused to listen to the red cross doctors and aid workers to trujillo this was the problem with people of the caranchas region outsiders never came to the area so many of the villagers didn't trust them trujillo knew that caranchus was not cursed he just needed to find a way to get his people to listen then an idea struck maybe he could get them to believe the science with the help of someone who could appease the spirits trujillo left the health clinic climbed into his car and drove the seven miles to carancas the small village nestled in the shadows of snow capped mountains was eerily quiet and deserted as the mayor slowly drove through the narrow and winding streets he could see people peering out their windows normally they'd come outside to wave hello but but now it seemed like they were terrified of leaving their homes a few minutes later trujillo pulled up to a small adobe house with a thatched roof it belonged to the local shaman a man the mayor had long respected for his wisdom everybody in town trusted the shaman and trujillo hoped he could bring some calm to the community trujillo stepped out of his car and he was pleased to see that the shaman came out of his house to greet him trujillo explained the situation to the shaman and the shaman nodded thoughtfully and he agreed that the meteorite was not a curse although it had disrupted balance in the land and so he said he was happy to do his part to restore the natural order of things trujillo smiled and shook the shaman's hand he promised he'd be in touch soon and then mayor trujillo headed back to his car with the shaman's help he was sure he could get the townspeople to listen to him and restore order in the town meanwhile thousands of miles away in montreal canada a professor named peter schultz was standing in line at a coffee shop scrolling through the news app on his phone he taught earth environmental and planetary sciences at brown university in rhode island but he was in montreal for a conference on craters made by meteorites and other space objects he was fascinated by the articles about the meteorite strike in southern peru and not just because he found meteorites in general interesting this one stuck out because it made no sense the reports said that carrankus was struck by a chondrite meteorite the most common type of meteorite but also the most fragile a chondrite meteorite is a type of rock that comes from asteroids they're made up of small grains of minerals that have not been melted or changed much since they formed billions of years ago chondrites are so porous that they crack and burn up in earth's atmosphere before they can hit the ground to peter it seemed impossible that one of these chondrite meteorites could hit the earth with enough force to create this massive crater stranger still he had read that more than two hundred people who visited the crash site had ended up in the hospital meteorites should not be making people sick peter thought there had to be more to the story than met the eye peter turned his phone to silent and spent the rest of the afternoon in back to back lectures at his conference he finally left around dusk as he walked to dinner he noticed his voicemail was full of inquiries from different reporters and news outlets hoping for a comment from him on how a meteorite could cause such a widespread sickness but peter had to tell these reporters the truth he did not have answers but he wanted to get them and the only way to do it was to head to peru and see the crater for himself a few days later mayor trujillo stood in the very crowded community center in desiquadero he had needed a huge space to hold this town hall meeting and carancas didn't really have a building that could accommodate this size crowd even this community center was packed with almost every single person from carancas in attendance the mayor shivered but not because he was cold he knew that the government scientists had discovered something that would have a profound impact on everyone in this area and not just for those who had gotten sick at the crater as trujillo stood there waiting he spotted gregorio yoruri sitting in the back he was grateful to him for his role in alerting the authorities and was happy to see that gregorio looked healthy in fact most of the locals who'd gotten sick were starting to feel better but trujillo knew if they didn't listen to the scientists then things could get worse again trujillo had invited two guests to this meeting one was the local shaman and the other was a geologist named luisa macedo she was one of the scientists flown in by the government the mayor made his way to the front of the crowd and called for silence he had to choose his words carefully to avoid panicking those who believed that carankus was actually cursed he cleared his throat and announced that yes something had fallen from the sky but it had been a meteorite from outer space before anyone could argue with him he called the shaman over to join him and asked if he could prepare a sacrifice it needed to be something that would appease the spirits in case they were the ones who sent the meteorite crashing to earth the shaman nodded he told the crowd that they had rightfully sensed that the meteorite had unbalanced the land but he reassured them that the correct sacrifice would help appease any unhappy spirits he promised he would sacrifice a llama fetus at the crater as soon as possible which should be enough to restore harmony to the area several of the older women present smiled but mayor trujillo was still tense now came the hard part getting them to accept these scientists findings without panicking he introduced luisa the government geologist the hall erupted in whispers trujillo told the villagers to calm down that luisa was from southern peru just like they were that's why he'd asked her to speak everyone seemed to accept this since a regional scientist seemed a little more trustworthy the crowd settled down a bit and and then luisa smiled and she held up a large cardboard chart she'd made showing data on the local water table trujillo held his breath worried she was making things more complicated instead the crowd pushed in to get a better look at what she had luisa explained that she and her team weren't totally sure what was making so many people and livestock sick but they had a strong theory the day that she and her team had arrived in town they'd gone to the crash site and collected samples from different parts of the area they also tested the groundwater at the bottom of the crater mayor trujillo saw luisa hesitate for a moment and then continue she said that her team found that the water contained dangerous levels of arsenic a deadly poison the crowd erupted in murmurs of alarm as trujillo looked around the room he wasn't surprised by everyone's reaction when he first heard luisa's theory he'd been stunned too but he needed the crowd to listen their lives depended on what luisa had to say trujillo raised his hands and called for order and after a few seconds the townspeople did quiet down and he told them to continue to listen to luisa luisa nodded and then explained that when the meteorite hit caranchus the shockwave caused the groundwater to heat up and vaporize this caused the air to fill with a fine mist of arsenic vapor everyone who had gone to see the crater got sick because they had inhaled that vapor after hearing what she had to say the crowd became agitated again and started shouting questions mayor trujillo saw gregorio in the back trying to be heard and so trujillo demanded everyone be quiet and he pointed at gregorio and asked him to speak gregorio the sheep farmer stood up and politely asked luisa if that meant their drinking water was contaminated too luisa stayed silent for a moment trujillo could tell she was carefully thinking about what to say next finally she nodded and said that although they did need to do more testing it was very likely in fact most likely their water supply had been contaminated for years making the people less healthy and more vulnerable to deadly diseases like cancer heart disease and diabetes and so until they knew for sure luisa advised the crowd to just drink bottled water gregorio was alarmed by what he heard but he thanked her and sat down everyone else seemed totally stunned into silence by luisa's explanation first the meteor hit making people sick now they learned their water was contaminated all along trujillo knew it was frightening but at least they knew what they were dealing with after answering more questions luisa wrapped up her remarks and walked off the stage but as she headed toward him mayor trujillo noticed that the scientist looked anxious he pulled her aside and asked if everything was okay luisa shook her head and told him that something still didn't make sense she was confident that the sickness had been caused by arsenic gas from the meteorite impact and but she had not actually proven that no scientists had detected arsenic in the air around the crater that was a theory in fact she didn't understand how the meteorite could have gotten hot enough to create this toxic arsenic vapor luisa explained that meteorites are usually freezing when they impact earth even though they may look like they're on fire that's because space is extremely cold with an average temperature of minus four hundred and fifty four degrees fahrenheit the friction caused by entering earth's atmosphere would have heated it up a little bit but not enough to boil water and turn it into a mist mayor trujillo frowned he now realized that even luisa wasn't sure that her arsenic theory was right and if she was wrong then something else had made his people sick trujillo was troubled but he had a more immediate making sure the local drinking water was safe it was up to the scientists to figure out whether arsenic vapor or something else had caused the mass sickness until they figured it out trujillo knew he would not sleep well a little over two months later in december of two thousand seven professor peter schultz arrived in caranchas to investigate the crash site on a dry and sunny day he drove through the winding roads of the rugged countryside until he reached the crater even though the rainy season had nearly filled it with water he was struck by how massive it was peter had heard about luisa macedo's discovery of arsenic in the water there was no debate that there was arsenic in the water itself but so far nobody had been able to explain how or even if if arsenic got into the air until that was proven there was still the possibility that some other chemical from the meteorite's impact had made everyone sick if that was the case the people of carrankus could still be in danger peter was determined to find the answer and make sure these people were safe and over the next few weeks he was able to slowly form a theory that connected all the dots usually when chondrite meteorites shoot through the earth's atmosphere their fragile makeup causes them to shatter into hundreds of tiny pieces which turn to ash long before they ever reach the earth's surface and that's what should have happened with this meteorite peter concluded that the carrankus meteorite survived its passage through the atmosphere because of its high speed and shallow entry angle he believed that these factors along with the heat from the earth's atmosphere caused the outer layers of the meteorite to melt and fuse back together that made it dense enough to make it through the atmosphere where it became superheated and unleashed the arsenic vapor once it hit the ground all this meant that the people of caranchus were safe it was the meteorite and not some other unidentified danger that heated up the arsenic laced water and turned it into vapor thankfully the damage caused by the meteorite's impact was not permanent all the people who'd gotten sick including gregorio yoruri made a full recovery and so did all the animals thanks to the research of luisa macedo and the other scientists arsenic was detected in the drinking water and non profit organizations have installed measures to make it safe safer even though the water is cleaner and the arsenic gas is long gone the people of carancas will always remember when in a way they were attacked by a ufo.

[A]

Follow mister ballin's medical mysteries on the wondery app amazon music or wherever you get your podcasts you can listen to new episodes of mister bolan's medical mysteries early and ad free right now by joining wondry in the wondery app apple podcasts or spotify or by listening on amazon music with your prime membership before you go tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at wondry dot com survey from ballin studios and wondry this is mister ballin's medical mysteries hosted.

[B]

By me mister ballin a quick note about our stories we use aliases sometimes because we don't know the names of the real people in the story and also in most cases we can't know exactly what was said but everything is based on a lot of research and a reminder the content in this episode is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice diagnosis or treatment this episode was written by aaron lance our editor is heather dundas sound design is by matthew chilelli coordinating producer is sophia martins our senior producer is alex.

[A]

Benedon our associate producers and researchers are.

[B]

Sarah vitak and teja palakonda fact checking.

[A]

Was done by sheila patterson for ballin.

[B]

Studios our head of production is zach levitt script editing is by scott allen and evan allen our coordinating producer is matub zaire executive producers are myself mister ballin and nick witters for wondry our head of sound is marcelino villapando senior.

[A]

Producers are loradonna palavoda and dave schilling senior managing producer is ryan lohr our.

[B]

Executive producers are aaron o' flaherty and.

[A]

Marshall louis for wondry.

[C]

How hard is it to kill a planet maybe all it takes is a little drilling some mining and a whole lot of carbon pumped into the atmosphere when you see what's left it starts to look like.

[B]

A crime scene are we really safe is our water safe you destroyed our.

[C]

Tap and crimes like that they don't.

[B]

Just happen we call things accidents there is no accident this was one one hundred percent preventable they're the result of.

[C]

Choices by people ruthless oil tycoons corrupt politicians even organized crime these are the stories we need to be telling about our changing planet stories of scams murders and cover ups that are about us and the things we're doing to either protect the earth or destroy it follow lawless planet on the onery app or wherever you get your podcast podcasts you can listen to new episodes of lawless planet early and ad free right now by joining wonry plus in the wondery app apple podcasts or spotify.